Invite Sharing
Encourage each child to share how they know that Jesus Christ loves them. Ask them to share what they are doing to show that they love Jesus.
Click on the image to be taken to a page where you can print this.
Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
Jesus Christ suffered for me because He loves me.
Through His atoning sacrifice, Jesus Christ suffered for our sins and took upon Himself “our griefs” and “our sorrows.” How will you testify to the children of the Savior’s Atonement?
Possible Activities
Display pictures of the Savior suffering on the cross and in the Garden of Gethsemane (see Gospel Art Book, nos. 56, 57, or chapters 51–53 in New Testament Stories). Ask the children to describe what they see in the pictures and share what they know about what is happening. Why did Jesus suffer for us?
Read to the children from Isaiah 53:4: “He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.” Show the children a heavy object (or a picture of one), and invite them to pretend to lift something heavy. Explain that “grief” and “sorrow” (or sadness) can feel heavy and hard to carry. Testify that Jesus Christ will help us carry these things because He loves us.
Tape these to a bunch of heavy items. When you are teaching this, add these items to a bag, one at a time, as the children tell you what makes them feel sad. You may want to share about someone you loved who has died and explain that is called "Grief." After everything is added, all our sadness and sorrow, let the children take turns carrying it. Then read the scripture Isaiah 53:4, and bear testimony that our Savior has carried all those things, so he knows how we feel, and knows how to comfort us. He will carry these things for us, because He loves us.
This idea is for Mitzi at comefollowmekid.com
I can seek the Lord and call upon Him.
Consider how you can help the children understand what it means to “seek” Jesus throughout their lives.
Possible Activities
Hide a picture of Jesus somewhere in the room, and invite the children to find it. Read the words “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found” from Isaiah 55:6. Ask the children to name some ways they can seek the Lord—which means that they try hard to learn about Him and come close to Him. Each time a child gives an answer, hide the picture again, and invite the child to “seek” for it.
Help the children learn the words to the song “Seek the Lord Early” (Children’s Songbook, 108) or another song about coming closer to the Savior. Use this week’s activity page to help the children choose something they will do to “seek … the Lord.”
(Click on the image to be take to the song on the churches website)
Read the phrase “Call ye upon him while he is near” from Isaiah 55:6. How do we call upon Heavenly Father? Ask the children to talk about what they say in their prayers. Testify that Heavenly Father loves them and hears them when they pray.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
The Lord invites me to “put on [my] strength.”
In Isaiah 51 and 52, the Lord used phrases like “awake,” “stand up,” and “put on thy strength” to inspire His people to live up to their divine potential. Consider how these phrases could inspire the children you teach.
Possible Activities
Before class, write on the board several phrases from Isaiah 51–52 that express actions the Lord wanted His people to do, such as “Lift up your eyes,” “Awake,” “Stand up,” “Shake thyself from the dust,” and “Break forth into joy” (Isaiah 51:6, 17; 52:2, 9). Let the children take turns acting out one of the phrases while the rest of the class tries to guess what the action is. After each turn, show the children the phrase in the scriptures, and discuss with them the spiritual meaning of the phrase. What is the Lord asking us to do? How can we do each of these things?
Invite the children to read Isaiah 51:1, 4, 7 and identify who the Lord is speaking to and what He wants them to do. What does it mean to “hearken unto” the Lord? To illustrate, ask one of the children to give simple instructions that the others have to follow. Why is it sometimes hard to listen to and obey the Lord? How can we show the Lord that we “hearken unto” Him?
Jesus Christ took upon Himself my sins and sorrows.
How can you use the words of Isaiah to help the children understand more deeply what the Savior did for them?
Possible Activities
Display several pictures depicting the suffering and death of Jesus Christ (see, for example, Gospel Art Book, nos. 56, 57, 58). Read together Isaiah 53:3–6, 9, and invite the children to look for phrases that describe the events in the pictures. Testify that hundreds of years before Jesus Christ suffered for us, prophets like Isaiah were teaching about these important events. Why would it be important for people to know these things so many years in advance? (see Alma 39:15–19).
Invite the children to read Isaiah 53:4–7 and find words that describe what the Savior suffered for us. Ask them to write these words on the board. Why did He suffer our “griefs,” “sorrows,” and “iniquities”? (see also Alma 7:11–12). Share with the children how the Savior has helped you carry your griefs and sorrows. Let them share how they feel about the Savior and what He has done for them.
(Click on image to be taken to the churches website to watch the video with the primary son Gethsemane.)
The Lord’s ways are higher than my ways.
When we understand that the Lord’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours, it becomes easier to trust in Him.
Possible Activities
Ask the children who they would go to if they were having a difficult problem, and why. Read with the children Isaiah 55:8–9, and ask them to listen for why we should seek the Lord’s guidance when we need help.
Draw on the board the sky and the ground, and label them Heavens and Earth. Then invite the children to read Isaiah 55:9 to find out what the Lord compared to the heavens and the earth, and ask them to add these other labels to the drawings. What does it mean that the Lord’s ways and thoughts are “higher” than ours? Why is it important to know this?
Discuss with the children some of the Lord’s ways that are higher than our ways. For example, what is His way of treating sinners? (see Mark 2:15–17). What is His way of leading others? (see Matthew 20:25–28). How are His ways different from the ways of others? Tell the children how you have learned to trust the Lord’s higher ways and thoughts.
Encourage Learning at Home
Suggest to the children that they set a goal that can help them come closer to Jesus Christ, based on something they learned in class today. Invite them to share that goal with a family member.